Beginning a new planting process the Whangateau HarbourCare Group gathered 10 able-bodied planters and 3 not so able supporters to complete this season’s planting. The area shown is on Esplanade Reserve beside a small tributary of the Tamahunga stream flowing into the Omaha River and to the Whangateau harbour. The site is just below the new brewery on Leigh Road and represents the first step in protecting the stream from erosion and silt discharge into the harbour. [Read more…]

After almost 2 years of consultation between Watercare and residents from the wider Whangateau Harbour community Watercare is now formulating a new Resource Consent for the Jones Road (Omaha) treatment plant. Over this time the meetings have been chaired by Fiona McKenzie (Ngati Manuhiri) and the meetings have been regularly attended by members of the Whangateau HarbourCare Group and residents from Omaha Beach, Jones Road and Point Wells as well as a regular contingent of Watercare staff, advisers and researchers. Conspicuously absent on all but two occasions have been representatives of Auckland Council!

On Saturday, 11th October three HarbourCare members went down to the seaside of the new subdivision at Point Wells. It was 10am, just before the peak of a spring tide. It was a pleasant spring day with a light Southerly breeze and a slight chop on the water. We were very impressed by the volume of seawater covering the area the Council has designated as Esplanade Reserve”.

The meetings of community members with Watercare appear to be progressing well and generate hope that this is a new and effective direction for community consultation. Sewage is a controversial issue which has generated concerns for residents in the Whangateau harbour catchment for some years and it is very encouraging to feel these concerns are at last being listened to.

A consultation process never before used by Auckland Council and its “legacy” Councils has begun. This is modelled on similar processes used for large and environmentally challenging projects in other parts of the country.

This report documents the reasons for my concerns about the development at Point Wells.

Early in this century the RDC proceeded through a detailed consultation process to develop Point Wells and Omaha Flats resulting in the “Point Wells and Omaha Flats Sustainable Development Plan.” The Point Wells community had approved the final draft of the plan and fully supported it when it was ratified by Council. At the Councillor hearing the owners of 228 Point Wells Road employed Terra Nova Planning (Shane Hartley) to present a plan for development of their site which conformed to the wishes of the community and included a significantly wide reserve with path along the foreshore with appropriate public access. This was fully supported by the Whangateau HarbourCare Group (Inc) in their submission. [Read more…]